Pirates to promote Alvarez to Altoona

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The Pirates will promote Alvarez, their top prospect, from Class A Lynchburg to Class AA Altoona in time for the Curve's game tomorrow night in Erie.

Alvarez, 22, batted .247 for the Hillcats, whose first half ended yesterday. He also had 14 home runs and 55 RBIs, as well as 70 strikeouts in 243 at-bats.

"Pedro has demonstrated to us that he is ready for the challenge," director of player development Kyle Stark said last night. "People typically focus on performance when it comes time for promotions, but we focus on the process and the specific things we're trying to accomplish at each level. Pedro has accomplished those things, in our minds. Plus, the performance actually has been better than the superficial numbers have shown for a while now."

Relievers Michael Dubee and Dustin Molleken will be making the same promotion, as will outfielder Miles Durham later in the week after he appears in the Carolina League all-star game.